Saskatchewan is proposing to increase maternity and adoption leaves to offer what the province says will be the longest time off in the country.

A bill introduced in the legislature would allow new mothers to take 19 weeks off _ one week more than they get now.

The proposal would also align parental leave with new federal standards of 59 weeks for a mother if she took full leave.

If another parent took the entire leave or collected employment insurance, parental leave would expand to 63 weeks.

The government also plans to make workers eligible to take 17 weeks off to care for critically ill adult family members.

Interpersonal violence leave is to be extended to 10 days to include survivors of sexual violence.

Survivors can use the time to seek medical or legal assistance, move to a safe space or obtain support services.

“During a major life event, such as bringing a child into the family or assisting a loved one experiencing a serious illness, workers should not have to worry about job security,” Labour Relations Minister Don Morgan said Wednesday in a statement.

Insurance company will allow up to a year off for parents, six months of which will be on full basic pay, regardless of gender

OTTAWA _ New mothers and fathers planning to begin their parental leave on or after Dec. 3 will be able to spread their federal benefits over a longer period of time.

The federal government’s long-promised changes to parental leave rules will go into effect early next month, says Families Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, allowing eligible new parents to take up to 18 months of employment insurance benefits after the birth of a child.

On that same date, a new family caregiver benefits will also kick in one a 15-week leave to care for a critically ill or injured adult, the other a 35-week benefit to care for a critically ill or injured child.

Eligible soon-to-be-mothers will also be able to claim maternity benefits up to 12 weeks before the baby is due.

However, the government won’t increase the actual value of employment insurance benefits for anyone who takes the extended parental leave: instead, the Liberals are sticking with their 2015 election promise to spread 12 months’ worth of benefits over 18 months.

The change in rules will automatically give more workers in federally regulated workplaces like banks, transport companies, the public service and telecoms the option of taking time off, and are likely to spur calls for provincial changes to allow the other 92 per cent of Canadian workers access to similar leave.

So far, Ontario has publicly said it will amend its legislation to match the new federal rules.

Affected workplaces will have to decide how or even if to amend existing leave policies and collective agreements that spell out issues like salary top-ups.

As is, the federal parental leave program pays out benefits for up to 17 weeks for new mothers and allows parents to split an additional 35 weeks.

Under the changes first outlined in this year’s budget, new parents apply for employment insurance benefits, they will be able to decide whether to take additional weeks off, which can be split between parents.

Anyone who is already receiving 35 weeks of parental leave before the new measures officially come into effect won’t be able to switch and take the extra time.

The eligibility for the cash won’t change: A new parent will still need 600 hours of work in the previous 12 months to access benefits, while self-employed workers who have opted in to the EI system will need to have earned at least $6,888 in the last year.

The Liberals budgeted $886 million over the next five years for the new measures, and $204.8 million a year after that.

None of the parental leave changes will impact residents of Quebec, where the province runs its own parental leave program.

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, today announced the appointment of Pierre Laliberté to the Canada Employment Insurance Commission as the Commissioner for Workers for a term of 3 years, effective October 3, 2017. Mr. Laliberté was first appointed last fall as the interim Commissioner for Workers.

The Commissioner for Workers is responsible for representing the views of organizations and individuals that are affected by Employment and Social Development Canada programs and services, particularly Employment Insurance. By consulting stakeholders, the Commissioner is able to convey their concerns and positions regarding the administration of legislation, policy development and program delivery.

Before serving the interests of workers in his current role as the interim Commissioner for Workers, Mr. Laliberté worked as an executive assistant to the President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) as well as an economist for that organization, where he represented the Congress both nationally and internationally. Prior to that, he worked as an economist with the International Labour Office in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was the editor for the research publication International Journal of Labour Research. Furthermore, he has a broad familiarity with labour issues having worked with unions—both the United Steel Workers of America and the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec. Mr. Laliberté has been an active member of many advisory boards and holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Massachusetts.

This appointment is part of the rigorous new approach for open, transparent and merit-based Governor in Council appointments.

Quick Facts

The Commission has three voting members, representing the interests of government, workers and employers.

For more than 75 years, this tripartite organization has included representation from business, labour and the Government of Canada.

Ironshore International is introducing a specialty insurance product designed to address the risk exposure of film production companies shooting in at risk locations worldwide.
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